Miami Game & Other Dribbles ...

[DT_PITT]

** Bummer. Our hopes for a truly special road trip were dashed away in the final seconds in Coral Gables.

** In those final seconds, it sure looked to me that there was some contact on Jaland. And for me, a foul call would have been more than welcome.

** But it’s hard for me not to look at the previous 39 minutes and 57 seconds for all of the reasons the Panthers have fallen to 3-6 in the ACC today. They are the same reasons this team has fallen short 8 times this year, and will continue to fall short more times than we will probably want in our final 11 games.

** In short, we are completely a jump shooting team, and when not enough guys are hitting jump shots, which was the case in the first half, we are going to find ourselves in deficits too large to overcome.

** We are a team completely without any inside presence from a big, and this of course is a big problem.

** Somehow, the box score credited our Panthers with 20 points in the paint. But maybe all but 2 of those were drives to basket by our guards.

** Even on that final fateful play for Jaland, the Panthers really offered no legit options for a better shot. Fede came out and set a weak high ball screen and faded to the paint giving the Panthers no options there.

** Because of the poor ball screen, Jaland moved left and a pick and pop with Blake never materialized.

** This left Jaland to try and foul bait. Despite what looked like some contact to Jaland’s head, the Black and White stripes crew just wasn’t going to bail us out. Maybe there’s some justice to this. I can’t say I’m sure one way or another.

** But maybe Jaland deserved a little more justice. After a first half when he really struggled, he spearheaded the Panther comeback with a pretty brilliant 15 second half points.

** Still, one part of Jaland’s game that just is not there yet is the pick and roll to the paint like we often saw last year with Nelly and Jamarius.

** Of course, when it comes to the pick and roll, it takes two to tango and this year, neither Fede nor GDG have been capable dance partners. It’s not is Austin’s game either. And once again for the Panthers in this game, this is a problem.

** The Panther defense, while not problematic today, just isn’t formidable enough to make up for to times when we can’t score.

** The x factor in all of this is Bub. Unfortunately, he’s been mostly reduced to a one on one player off the dribble. And when he’s not hitting his jumper, the Panthers are almost always certain to struggle.

** And this isn’t to suggest that Bub didn’t play hard. He did. His 8 rebounds and 4 assists make this point. But when your team relies only on jump shots and you aren’t hitting yours, the result is pretty obvious.

** I’ve given up on the idea of Bub drawing contact. It’s just not who he is.

** Ish isn’t afraid of contact and he’s our most consistent penetrator into the paint. But to his detriment, too often he’s going into two taller defenders not worried with anyone else who can score down low.

** This day, despite our furious finish, it all added up to game with too little too late to pull out a win.

** This season, despite two nice road wins including a great one in Durham, I suspect any progress the Panthers might be able to make in the final 11 games may also feel like too little too late.

 

[Pittnerski]

Miami killed us late in the shot clock.

Bub isn’t a one and done. But he might be fumbling the bag from the blue bloods this off season

Tough to imagine after 6 years and the resume that not one staff shakeup has occurred

ACC has been related to a mid major. They’ll be lucky to see 4 teams in the tourney

 

[DT_PITT]

Tough to imagine after 6 years and the resume that not one staff shakeup has occurred

Wish I could argue with this. But I can't.

 

[Vader_Storm]

** Bummer. Our hopes for a truly special road trip were dashed away in the final seconds in Coral Gables.

** In those final seconds, it sure looked to me that there was some contact on Jaland. And for me, a foul call would have been more than welcome.

** But it’s hard for me not to look at the previous 39 minutes and 57 seconds for all of the reasons the Panthers have fallen to 3-6 in the ACC today. They are the same reasons this team has fallen short 8 times this year, and will continue to fall short more times than we will probably want in our final 11 games.

** In short, we are completely a jump shooting team, and when not enough guys are hitting jump shots, which was the case in the first half, we are going to find ourselves in deficits too large to overcome.

** We are a team completely without any inside presence from a big, and this of course is a big problem.

** Somehow, the box score credited our Panthers with 20 points in the paint. But maybe all but 2 of those were drives to basket by our guards.

** Even on that final fateful play for Jaland, the Panthers really offered no legit options for a better shot. Fede came out and set a weak high ball screen and faded to the paint giving the Panthers no options there.

** Because of the poor ball screen, Jaland moved left and a pick and pop with Blake never materialized.

** This left Jaland to try and foul bait. Despite what looked like some contact to Jaland’s head, the Black and White stripes crew just wasn’t going to bail us out. Maybe there’s some justice to this. I can’t say I’m sure one way or another.

** But maybe Jaland deserved a little more justice. After a first half when he really struggled, he spearheaded the Panther comeback with a pretty brilliant 15 second half points.

** Still, one part of Jaland’s game that just is not there yet is the pick and roll to the paint like we often saw last year with Nelly and Jamarius.

** Of course, when it comes to the pick and roll, it takes two to tango and this year, neither Fede nor GDG have been capable dance partners. It’s not is Austin’s game either. And once again for the Panthers in this game, this is a problem.

** The Panther defense, while not problematic today, just isn’t formidable enough to make up for to times when we can’t score.

** The x factor in all of this is Bub. Unfortunately, he’s been mostly reduced to a one on one player off the dribble. And when he’s not hitting his jumper, the Panthers are almost always certain to struggle.

** And this isn’t to suggest that Bub didn’t play hard. He did. His 8 rebounds and 4 assists make this point. But when your team relies only on jump shots and you aren’t hitting yours, the result is pretty obvious.

** I’ve given up on the idea of Bub drawing contact. It’s just not who he is.

** Ish isn’t afraid of contact and he’s our most consistent penetrator into the paint. But to his detriment, too often he’s going into two taller defenders not worried with anyone else who can score down low.

** This day, despite our furious finish, it all added up to game with too little too late to pull out a win.

** This season, despite two nice road wins including a great one in Durham, I suspect any progress the Panthers might be able to make in the final 11 games may also feel like too little too late.

Next 5 games is going to tell me a lot more about where progress is being made both with our coaching staff and with our players and I really was not happy with our coaching staff today at all. Winning 2 out on this road trip was progress. But if we are a team that is getting closer to what we want, we need to find a way to win at least 4 of the next 5 acc games. Those 5 games include


Notre Dame at home, 2nd to last place in the ACC
Louisville at home who has been crushed with injuries lately, last place in ACC.
Wake Forest at home who is 1-4 on the road this year
Nc State on the road who has lost 3 straight games and 4 of the last 6 games
Virginia on the road who is 12-2 against us since we joined the ACC


We need 3 here at a bare minimum. A 4-1 stretch gets us to 7-7 in the ACC, which looks a heck of a lot better than 3-6.

 

[PittPoker]

** Bummer. Our hopes for a truly special road trip were dashed away in the final seconds in Coral Gables.

** In those final seconds, it sure looked to me that there was some contact on Jaland. And for me, a foul call would have been more than welcome.

** But it’s hard for me not to look at the previous 39 minutes and 57 seconds for all of the reasons the Panthers have fallen to 3-6 in the ACC today. They are the same reasons this team has fallen short 8 times this year, and will continue to fall short more times than we will probably want in our final 11 games.

** In short, we are completely a jump shooting team, and when not enough guys are hitting jump shots, which was the case in the first half, we are going to find ourselves in deficits too large to overcome.

** We are a team completely without any inside presence from a big, and this of course is a big problem.

** Somehow, the box score credited our Panthers with 20 points in the paint. But maybe all but 2 of those were drives to basket by our guards.

** Even on that final fateful play for Jaland, the Panthers really offered no legit options for a better shot. Fede came out and set a weak high ball screen and faded to the paint giving the Panthers no options there.

** Because of the poor ball screen, Jaland moved left and a pick and pop with Blake never materialized.

** This left Jaland to try and foul bait. Despite what looked like some contact to Jaland’s head, the Black and White stripes crew just wasn’t going to bail us out. Maybe there’s some justice to this. I can’t say I’m sure one way or another.

** But maybe Jaland deserved a little more justice. After a first half when he really struggled, he spearheaded the Panther comeback with a pretty brilliant 15 second half points.

** Still, one part of Jaland’s game that just is not there yet is the pick and roll to the paint like we often saw last year with Nelly and Jamarius.

** Of course, when it comes to the pick and roll, it takes two to tango and this year, neither Fede nor GDG have been capable dance partners. It’s not is Austin’s game either. And once again for the Panthers in this game, this is a problem.

** The Panther defense, while not problematic today, just isn’t formidable enough to make up for to times when we can’t score.

** The x factor in all of this is Bub. Unfortunately, he’s been mostly reduced to a one on one player off the dribble. And when he’s not hitting his jumper, the Panthers are almost always certain to struggle.

** And this isn’t to suggest that Bub didn’t play hard. He did. His 8 rebounds and 4 assists make this point. But when your team relies only on jump shots and you aren’t hitting yours, the result is pretty obvious.

** I’ve given up on the idea of Bub drawing contact. It’s just not who he is.

** Ish isn’t afraid of contact and he’s our most consistent penetrator into the paint. But to his detriment, too often he’s going into two taller defenders not worried with anyone else who can score down low.

** This day, despite our furious finish, it all added up to game with too little too late to pull out a win.

** This season, despite two nice road wins including a great one in Durham, I suspect any progress the Panthers might be able to make in the final 11 games may also feel like too little too late.

I'm so sick of people telling us to be hopeful and happy with a comeback loss. A loss in a loss. Pitt is 3-6 in league play, near the bottom of the conference. An NCAA bid is out of the question and most likely so is an NIT bid. The team in year 6 of the Jeff Capel era is another in a long list of disappointments. Most likely another where there will be no postseason play.

But wait some people on here say - wait until next season when this player will be here and that player will do this and maybe Lowe and Bub come back and are better and yada yada yada. Next season will be more of the same. The only way things change is when Jeff Capel and his merry bunch of useless assistants are gone.

 

[Pittisit4me]

I have thought this team's ceiling is the NIT for a while now.

Up until our trip to Cameron indoor I didn't think we would achieve that ceiling.

I have enjoyed watching this team especially lately, they are battling and improving.

As DT said, this team is to reliant on jumpers.

The schedule the rest of the way is not a killer.

We need more from Bub in the scoring column. He needs to make better decisions and take better shots. He does seem afraid of contact. The handle and elevation are plenty good, but, the upper body / shoulders are not broad enough or strong enough to create space to get to the hoop.

I think those who think the ACC is super weak are wrong. If your comparing it to the big 12 then sure. SEC is deeper. Outside of that, I don't think there is much difference.

I believe we will win our fair share of the games left and will get that NIT bid.

 

[Vader_Storm]

Regarding Carrington...

There are a couple of really fascinating things when you look at his stats this year.

1) ACC Conference play ORTG- Jaland Lowe- 108 Carrington-93. What a fascinating switch from earlier season non conference schedule to acc conference play

2) Bub Carrington is making 53% of his midrange shots for the season and 48% in ACC Conference play. Both of these are terrific. This is Burton territory. And Carrington has almost 3 times as many midrange makes this year as any other player on our roster. The difference is, Burton took way more midrange shots for the entire season. Bub is sticking with 3s which is killing his percentages and ratings.

3) 53% of Carrington's total shot attempts this year have been 3s. He is shooting them at a 28% rate for the season and 24% in ACC Conference play. This is unfamiliar territory for him, as he has been a legit 38-43% 3 point shooter at all his previous stops, including the EYBL. He is taking far too many 1 on 1 threes and far too few catch and shoot open 3s. He has in the past been able to make difficult shots off the bounce against Elite defenders from from midrange and the 3 in the past. He is finding it a bit more difficult this season against better athletes. The coaching staff needs to get him open looks without him trying to create by himself all the time. Austin got wide open looks all game long today. If Carrington needs to play some 3 with Leggett at the 2, then make the move and get him some open looks off the catch and shoot. Why are Hinson and Austin getting some of these open looks and Carrington is not. He is playing upwards of 35 minutes plus a game recently in acc conference games and his conditioning from my view looks quite good for a freshmen.

4) Regarding the 3 pointer. He's on NBA draft radars for a reason. His midrange game is terrific as a freshmen, he can rebound, and he is a decent passer with strong assist to turnover numbers for a player his size. For him to climb rapidly into a potential lotto pick 1-2 years from now, his 3 point game needs fine tuned. He's far better served returning to college at least next year. He and Jeff Capel should study some Rip Hamilton and Jim Calhoun / Uconn film in the offseason to utilze Carrington's strengths much better next year. He is being given way too much freedom to launch 3s and questionable shot selection with them. This is on Jeff Capel as a coach to get him clean catch and shoot looks as much as it is on Carrington to have much better shot selection. He is deadly in the midrange, utilize it.

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

This was probably the most sound gameplan they’ve had. Miami made tough shots early then cooled off because they weren’t good shots. One or two bounces cost the game.

I just don’t get not going small and having Hinson set the ball screen there. Always go for the win on the road. Maybe a fake ball screen flare for Hinson would’ve worked. Alas

 

[Pittisit4me]

Regarding Carrington...

There are a couple of really fascinating things when you look at his stats this year.

1) ACC Conference play ORTG- Jaland Lowe- 108 Carrington-93. What a fascinating switch from earlier season non conference schedule to acc conference play

2) Bub Carrington is making 53% of his midrange shots for the season and 48% in ACC Conference play. Both of these are terrific. This is Burton territory. And Carrington has almost 3 times as many midrange makes this year as any other player on our roster. The difference is, Burton took way more midrange shots for the entire season. Bub is sticking with 3s which is killing his percentages and ratings.

3) 53% of Carrington's total shot attempts this year have been 3s. He is shooting them at a 28% rate for the season and 24% in ACC Conference play. This is unfamiiar territory for him, as he has been a legit 38-43% 3 point shooter at all his previous stops, including the EYBL. He is taking far too many 1 on 1 threes and far too few catch and shoot open 3s. He has in the past been able to make difficult shots off the bounce against Elite defenders from from midrange and the 3 in the past. He is finding it a bit more difficult this season against better athletes. The coaching staff needs to get him open looks without him trying to create by himself all the time. Austin got wide open looks all game long today. If Carrington needs to play some 3 with Leggett at the 2, then make the move and get him some open looks off the catch and shoot. Why are Hinson and Austin getting some of these open looks and Carrington is not. He is playing upwards of 35 minutes plus a game recently in acc conference games and his conditioning from my view looks quite good for a freshmen.

4) Regarding the 3 pointer. He's on NBA draft radars for a reason. His midrange game is terrific as a freshmen, he can rebound, and he is a decent passer with strong assist to turnover numbers for a player his size. For him to climb rapidly into a potential lotto pick 1-2 years from now, his 3 point game needs fine tuned. He's far better served returning to college at least next year. He and Jeff Capel should study some Rip Hamilton and Jim Calhoun / Uconn film in the offseason to utilze Carrington's strengths much better next year. He is being given way too much freedom to launch 3s and questionable shot selection with them. This is on Jeff Capel as a coach to get him clean catch and shoot looks as much as it is on Carrington to have much better shot selection. He is deadly in the midrange, utilize it.

I don't understand why he never seems to fire up a catch and shoot?? Has he lost that much confidence?? I can think of a couple times today where he caught passes with plenty of time before a close out and he put the ball on the floor instead. Rhythm shooters love to catch and fire it. Bub is a true enigma. There is a ton of ability there to be unlocked. Lowe is figuring it out, maybe Bub will too.

 

[Franb]

This was probably the most sound gameplan they’ve had. Miami made tough shots early then cooled off because they weren’t good shots. One or two bounces cost the game.

I just don’t get not going small and having Hinson set the ball screen there. Always go for the win on the road. Maybe a fake ball screen flare for Hinson would’ve worked. Alas

Fede being on the court at the end makes no sense. What does he give you in that situation? He is bad a setting screens, and can't make foul shots.

 

[Protes]

** Bummer. Our hopes for a truly special road trip were dashed away in the final seconds in Coral Gables.

** In those final seconds, it sure looked to me that there was some contact on Jaland. And for me, a foul call would have been more than welcome.

** But it’s hard for me not to look at the previous 39 minutes and 57 seconds for all of the reasons the Panthers have fallen to 3-6 in the ACC today. They are the same reasons this team has fallen short 8 times this year, and will continue to fall short more times than we will probably want in our final 11 games.

** In short, we are completely a jump shooting team, and when not enough guys are hitting jump shots, which was the case in the first half, we are going to find ourselves in deficits too large to overcome.

** We are a team completely without any inside presence from a big, and this of course is a big problem.

** Somehow, the box score credited our Panthers with 20 points in the paint. But maybe all but 2 of those were drives to basket by our guards.

** Even on that final fateful play for Jaland, the Panthers really offered no legit options for a better shot. Fede came out and set a weak high ball screen and faded to the paint giving the Panthers no options there.

** Because of the poor ball screen, Jaland moved left and a pick and pop with Blake never materialized.

** This left Jaland to try and foul bait. Despite what looked like some contact to Jaland’s head, the Black and White stripes crew just wasn’t going to bail us out. Maybe there’s some justice to this. I can’t say I’m sure one way or another.

** But maybe Jaland deserved a little more justice. After a first half when he really struggled, he spearheaded the Panther comeback with a pretty brilliant 15 second half points.

** Still, one part of Jaland’s game that just is not there yet is the pick and roll to the paint like we often saw last year with Nelly and Jamarius.

** Of course, when it comes to the pick and roll, it takes two to tango and this year, neither Fede nor GDG have been capable dance partners. It’s not is Austin’s game either. And once again for the Panthers in this game, this is a problem.

** The Panther defense, while not problematic today, just isn’t formidable enough to make up for to times when we can’t score.

** The x factor in all of this is Bub. Unfortunately, he’s been mostly reduced to a one on one player off the dribble. And when he’s not hitting his jumper, the Panthers are almost always certain to struggle.

** And this isn’t to suggest that Bub didn’t play hard. He did. His 8 rebounds and 4 assists make this point. But when your team relies only on jump shots and you aren’t hitting yours, the result is pretty obvious.

** I’ve given up on the idea of Bub drawing contact. It’s just not who he is.

** Ish isn’t afraid of contact and he’s our most consistent penetrator into the paint. But to his detriment, too often he’s going into two taller defenders not worried with anyone else who can score down low.

** This day, despite our furious finish, it all added up to game with too little too late to pull out a win.

** This season, despite two nice road wins including a great one in Durham, I suspect any progress the Panthers might be able to make in the final 11 games may also feel like too little too late.

I just watched the last play and the subsequent replays again. The one angle makes it looks like Jaland gets clubbed on the head. But when you see the other angle, Omier's arm is up. I think it was a good no call.

Of course, Fede should not have been in the game on that last play for 2 reasons. For one thing, we should have had another shooter in. And second, if he gets fouled while shooting, the game's over. He's not making 2 shots.

So, the entire end-game scenario falls on the coach.

On another note, while I agree we have no inside scoring presence and that we are a jump shooting team, I could live with consistently taking good shots. We seem to take a lot where the degree of difficulty is high; Bub especially.

Again, quite a bit of this falls on the coach who seems unable to get the most out of the player's skill sets. One example is how he continues to let Bub launch 3's when he just isn't good at making them. And as Vader has shown, he's far better at the mid-range game.

 

[KennyTheKangaroo]

** This season, despite two nice road wins including a great one in Durham, I suspect any progress the Panthers might be able to make in the final 11 games may also feel like too little too late.

9-16 from the free throw line. This game was just another “what if” in a season of what ifs. This team isn’t talented enough to make the dance. But there’s juuuuust enough talent to wonder what could have been. But instead this is just a capel style loss in a capel style season.

 

[Sam Bam Clancy]

The percentage that Pitt hoops under Capel have scored a basket on a final possession of the first half or at the end of regulation (when one score is needed) seems quite low. For years the coaching staff has been unable to call the right play or to get the team to execute the play. That has been quite costly. The execution at the end of the first halves has occasionally been so poor that besides Pitt not scoring, the other team scores an unexpected basket with one or two seconds left. Killer situational basketball leading to close game losses.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

The percentage that Pitt hoops under Capel have scored a basket on a final possession of the first half or at the end of regulation (when one score is needed) seems quite low. For years the coaching staff has been unable to call the right play or to get the team to execute the play. That has been quite costly. The execution at the end of the first halves has occasionally been so poor that besides Pitt not scoring, the other team scores an unexpected basket with one or two seconds left. Killer situational basketball leading to close game losses.

I’ve watched Pitt play for many seasons and this isn’t a JC only issue, Pitt has been horrible at getting good shots off at the end of half’s forever .

 

[rockypanther]

Regarding Carrington...

There are a couple of really fascinating things when you look at his stats this year.

1) ACC Conference play ORTG- Jaland Lowe- 108 Carrington-93. What a fascinating switch from earlier season non conference schedule to acc conference play

2) Bub Carrington is making 53% of his midrange shots for the season and 48% in ACC Conference play. Both of these are terrific. This is Burton territory. And Carrington has almost 3 times as many midrange makes this year as any other player on our roster. The difference is, Burton took way more midrange shots for the entire season. Bub is sticking with 3s which is killing his percentages and ratings.

3) 53% of Carrington's total shot attempts this year have been 3s. He is shooting them at a 28% rate for the season and 24% in ACC Conference play. This is unfamiliar territory for him, as he has been a legit 38-43% 3 point shooter at all his previous stops, including the EYBL. He is taking far too many 1 on 1 threes and far too few catch and shoot open 3s. He has in the past been able to make difficult shots off the bounce against Elite defenders from from midrange and the 3 in the past. He is finding it a bit more difficult this season against better athletes. The coaching staff needs to get him open looks without him trying to create by himself all the time. Austin got wide open looks all game long today. If Carrington needs to play some 3 with Leggett at the 2, then make the move and get him some open looks off the catch and shoot. Why are Hinson and Austin getting some of these open looks and Carrington is not. He is playing upwards of 35 minutes plus a game recently in acc conference games and his conditioning from my view looks quite good for a freshmen.

4) Regarding the 3 pointer. He's on NBA draft radars for a reason. His midrange game is terrific as a freshmen, he can rebound, and he is a decent passer with strong assist to turnover numbers for a player his size. For him to climb rapidly into a potential lotto pick 1-2 years from now, his 3 point game needs fine tuned. He's far better served returning to college at least next year. He and Jeff Capel should study some Rip Hamilton and Jim Calhoun / Uconn film in the offseason to utilze Carrington's strengths much better next year. He is being given way too much freedom to launch 3s and questionable shot selection with them. This is on Jeff Capel as a coach to get him clean catch and shoot looks as much as it is on Carrington to have much better shot selection. He is deadly in the midrange, utilize it.

I don’t think from what I can tell Bub is getting coaches well here. His lack of mental development t and decision making as a point guard is a real problem.

 

[rockypanther]

This was probably the most sound gameplan they’ve had. Miami made tough shots early then cooled off because they weren’t good shots. One or two bounces cost the game.

I just don’t get not going small and having Hinson set the ball screen there. Always go for the win on the road. Maybe a fake ball screen flare for Hinson would’ve worked. Alas

I would have just got the ball to Bub and play it out I think or Hinson and not called the damn timeout.

 

[str61166]

Next 5 games is going to tell me a lot more about where progress is being made both with our coaching staff and with our players and I really was not happy with our coaching staff today at all. Winning 2 out on this road trip was progress. But if we are a team that is getting closer to what we want, we need to find a way to win at least 4 of the next 5 acc games. Those 5 games include


Notre Dame at home, 2nd to last place in the ACC
Louisville at home who has been crushed with injuries lately, last place in ACC.
Wake Forest at home who is 1-4 on the road this year
Nc State on the road who has lost 3 straight games and 4 of the last 6 games
Virginia on the road who is 12-2 against us since we joined the ACC


We need 3 here at a bare minimum. A 4-1 stretch gets us to 7-7 in the ACC, which looks a heck of a lot better than 3-6.

Been saying this elsewhere, but they have to be due for a home win. They haven’t beaten a power conference team at the Pete since that big Syracuse game on senior night last February - 5 straight to Mizzou, Clemson, UNC, Duke and Syracuse. Not winning even 2 of those sucks and would have made a huge difference, potentially being 14-6 instead of 12-8.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

I don’t think from what I can tell Bub is getting coaches well here. His lack of mental development t and decision making as a point guard is a real problem.

He’s not playing pg most of the time now , actually at the beginning of the season when he was playing the point he looked like a superstar.

He’s not being coached to put up off balanced 3’s .

Let’s not lose sight of the fact he’s an 18 yr old freshman playing against older physically stronger guys .

 

[303vND]

I don't understand why he never seems to fire up a catch and shoot?? Has he lost that much confidence?? I can think of a couple times today where he caught passes with plenty of time before a close out and he put the ball on the floor instead. Rhythm shooters love to catch and fire it. Bub is a true enigma. There is a ton of ability there to be unlocked. Lowe is figuring it out, maybe Bub will too.

Good observation on putting the ball on the floor. I said when it was happening, he’s making easier looks tougher by dribbling into the defense.

 

[PittMan 72]

Fede being on the court at the end makes no sense. What does he give you in that situation? He is bad a setting screens, and can't make foul shots.

Thought that would have been a question asked of HCJC in the post-game presser. But no. 🤷‍♂️

Maybe it was addressed on the coaches’ Pitt radio network show after the game? I didn’t hear that show. Maybe someone who did can elaborate?

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

Thought that would have been a question asked of HCJC in the post-game presser. But no. 🤷‍♂️

Maybe it was addressed on the coaches’ Pitt radio network show after the game? I didn’t hear that show. Maybe someone who did can elaborate?

You’d sooner hear Mike Tomlin face a tough question.

 

[BFo8]

I would have just got the ball to Bub and play it out I think or Hinson and not called the damn timeout.

I was really, really hoping for no timeout there. No faith in Capel with anything X and O related.

 

[Thee Jackie Treehorn]

I just watched the last play and the subsequent replays again. The one angle makes it looks like Jaland gets clubbed on the head. But when you see the other angle, Omier's arm is up. I think it was a good no call.

Without having studied the replays closely (or even distantly for that matter), I agreed with the no-call on that play. It seemed to me like Lowe was just going for the bail-out foul there and not really making a serious attempt to score, not that he was put in a strong position to do much. And I'm someone who enjoys a good officiating bellyache. Ask my wife. I have no quarrel with the refs on that one.

 

[Bethlehemjohn]

** Bummer. Our hopes for a truly special road trip were dashed away in the final seconds in Coral Gables.

** In those final seconds, it sure looked to me that there was some contact on Jaland. And for me, a foul call would have been more than welcome.

** But it’s hard for me not to look at the previous 39 minutes and 57 seconds for all of the reasons the Panthers have fallen to 3-6 in the ACC today. They are the same reasons this team has fallen short 8 times this year, and will continue to fall short more times than we will probably want in our final 11 games.

** In short, we are completely a jump shooting team, and when not enough guys are hitting jump shots, which was the case in the first half, we are going to find ourselves in deficits too large to overcome.

** We are a team completely without any inside presence from a big, and this of course is a big problem.

** Somehow, the box score credited our Panthers with 20 points in the paint. But maybe all but 2 of those were drives to basket by our guards.

** Even on that final fateful play for Jaland, the Panthers really offered no legit options for a better shot. Fede came out and set a weak high ball screen and faded to the paint giving the Panthers no options there.

** Because of the poor ball screen, Jaland moved left and a pick and pop with Blake never materialized.

** This left Jaland to try and foul bait. Despite what looked like some contact to Jaland’s head, the Black and White stripes crew just wasn’t going to bail us out. Maybe there’s some justice to this. I can’t say I’m sure one way or another.

** But maybe Jaland deserved a little more justice. After a first half when he really struggled, he spearheaded the Panther comeback with a pretty brilliant 15 second half points.

** Still, one part of Jaland’s game that just is not there yet is the pick and roll to the paint like we often saw last year with Nelly and Jamarius.

** Of course, when it comes to the pick and roll, it takes two to tango and this year, neither Fede nor GDG have been capable dance partners. It’s not is Austin’s game either. And once again for the Panthers in this game, this is a problem.

** The Panther defense, while not problematic today, just isn’t formidable enough to make up for to times when we can’t score.

** The x factor in all of this is Bub. Unfortunately, he’s been mostly reduced to a one on one player off the dribble. And when he’s not hitting his jumper, the Panthers are almost always certain to struggle.

** And this isn’t to suggest that Bub didn’t play hard. He did. His 8 rebounds and 4 assists make this point. But when your team relies only on jump shots and you aren’t hitting yours, the result is pretty obvious.

** I’ve given up on the idea of Bub drawing contact. It’s just not who he is.

** Ish isn’t afraid of contact and he’s our most consistent penetrator into the paint. But to his detriment, too often he’s going into two taller defenders not worried with anyone else who can score down low.

** This day, despite our furious finish, it all added up to game with too little too late to pull out a win.

** This season, despite two nice road wins including a great one in Durham, I suspect any progress the Panthers might be able to make in the final 11 games may also feel like too little too late.

-Ish almost always can beat his man. But if help D comes, he almost always gets swatted by the help D.
-Hopefully Jaland is a joy to watch the next few years. I really think he with a few more pieces could make this team really good.
-Jaland was definitely fouled, but I won’t blame the refs for this. We just didn’t make enough shot and fell down by too many. When it was hanging around 11, I felt pretty good about our chances. 19 was just too many.
-Overall, great road trip. 2-1 is a s good as anyone could have expedited and 1-2 or 0-3 was much more likely. The road isn’t what is killing us. 5 straight losses against Power 5 teams at home is why this team is not performing as well as we had hoped.
-Have to win the next 2 at home against a very good and dangerous Wake team and a scrappy ND team.

 

[Bethlehemjohn]

I have thought this team's ceiling is the NIT for a while now.

Up until our trip to Cameron indoor I didn't think we would achieve that ceiling.

I have enjoyed watching this team especially lately, they are battling and improving.

As DT said, this team is to reliant on jumpers.

The schedule the rest of the way is not a killer.

We need more from Bub in the scoring column. He needs to make better decisions and take better shots. He does seem afraid of contact. The handle and elevation are plenty good, but, the upper body / shoulders are not broad enough or strong enough to create space to get to the hoop.

I think those who think the ACC is super weak are wrong. If your comparing it to the big 12 then sure. SEC is deeper. Outside of that, I don't think there is much difference.

I believe we will win our fair share of the games left and will get that NIT bid.

The Big 12 is easily the best, followed by the SEC and after that, the ACC is as good as any other conference.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

-Ish almost always can beat his man. But if help D comes, he almost always gets swatted by the help D.
-Hopefully Jaland is a joy to watch the next few years. I really think he with a few more pieces could make this team really good.
-Jaland was definitely fouled, but I won’t blame the refs for this. We just didn’t make enough shot and fell down by too many. When it was hanging around 11, I felt pretty good about our chances. 19 was just too many.
-Overall, great road trip. 2-1 is a s good as anyone could have expedited and 1-2 or 0-3 was much more likely. The road isn’t what is killing us. 5 straight losses against Power 5 teams at home is why this team is not performing as well as we had hoped.
-Have to win the next 2 at home against a very good and dangerous Wake team and a scrappy ND team.

Jaland is easily the best talent on this team and we must find ways to keep him at Pitt. I know some will say Bub is, but this is just my opinion and that's why this board exists. Bub is good in spurts but is too inconsistent and sometimes predictable. Jaland is clutch, very good defender, smooth operator and controller of the offense and has great vision. He can create his own shot.

For Pitt to make any tournament at all, they needed to run off 5 or 6 in a row including 3 wins in a row on the road in this recent stint. We didn't quite do that. Now in order to even have a slim chance of a tournament, we'll need to win all of our home games and at least 3 of our away games. There's still time but it's not probable.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Jaland is easily the best talent on this team and we must find ways to keep him at Pitt. I know some will say Bub is, but this is just my opinion and that's why this board exists. Bub is good in spurts but is too inconsistent and sometimes predictable. Jaland is clutch, very good defender, smooth operator and controller of the offense and has great vision. He can create his own shot.

For Pitt to make any tournament at all, they needed to run off 5 or 6 in a row including 3 wins in a row on the road in this recent stint. We didn't quite do that. Now in order to even have a slim chance of a tournament, we'll need to win all of our home games and at least 3 of our away games. There's still time but it's not probable.

We probably need 6 more wins including the ACCT to make the NIT. We are favored in 6 more according to ESPN. The NIT is very doable

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

We probably need 6 more wins including the ACCT to make the NIT. We are favored in 6 more according to ESPN. The NIT is very doable

What's our math on the NCAAT lunardi?

 

[New York Panther]

Agree that Jaland was fouled, but it wasn't clear who the final foul was called against. Did they call it against Jaland or one of our other guys?